A witness told Indianapolis police that Hancock suspected that Michael Marks had stolen several items from a storage warehouse while Hancock was in jail, according to court documents, and he wanted to be paid back.

Hancock, the witness and another man followed the 41-year-old Marks to a Family Dollar store, where Hancock persuaded Marks to go with him to the warehouse in the 1200 block of West 29th Street.

The witness told police Hancock and Marks disappeared inside the warehouse, their absence punctuated by the sound of a single gunshot. Inside the building, the witness saw Marks' lifeless body, face-down on the warehouse floor, he told police.

"If anyone ever asks," the witness remembered Hancock saying, according to court documents, "tell them I did this."

Hancock smashed Marks' teeth with a tool and scooped them out of his mouth with a spoon, the witness said, remarking that he would like to make a necklace from the teeth, according to court documents.

They soaked the body in a cleaner containing lye. When that didn't work, they bought 4 pounds of pure lye. Again, no effect. The witness said they even tried to burn the body but to no avail, according to court documents.

Eventually, they used 16 bags of concrete, plywood and wooden pallets to conceal Marks' body in a shallow grave inside the warehouse, the witness told police. They burned the plastic containers of lye and returned extra bags of concrete.

Marks' mother, who had reported her son missing weeks before, was able to identify his body based on his tattoos, according to court documents. His March 22 autopsy revealed that all but four of his teeth had been removed. He was missing the fingers on his left hand. Medical examiners removed bullet fragment from his skull.

Investigators found receipts from several hardware stores that showed Hancock bought several containers of lye, a cleaner containing lye, a shovel and more than a dozen bags of concrete between Feb. 14 and Feb. 27, according to court documents. He also rented a U-Haul truck on Feb. 26.

During a March 20 search of Hancock's Brownsburg home, investigators found receipts for a cleaner containing lye and a shovel, a letter to the probation department about Marks stealing from Hancock Family Inc., a time card for Marks, several cellphones, a DVR and a jail letter written by Hancock.

In the letter, Hancock asks his wife to pass along a message to the people at the shop whom he believed had been stealing from him.

"I will be out soon, and I'm coming!" Hancock wrote, according to court documents. "Take that for what it is, think I'm playing? I will be coming for restitution either money material or teeth you decide!"

Hancock contacted investigators on March 23 in an effort to tell his side of the story, according to court documents.

He told detectives that he was renting the warehouse as a storage unit for his business, Hancock Family Inc., and that Marks was an employee who also lived in an apartment on the property.

Hancock said he believed Marks was the reason he was arrested and jailed earlier in the month. Online court records indicate Hancock was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, possession of methamphetamine and possession of paraphernalia on Feb. 4.

He also told police he believed Marks wanted to steal from him. Hancock said he and Marks had had a verbal altercation and he had asked Marks to move out by the following Monday, according to court documents.

When confronted with pictures of the drain cleaner containing lye, Hancock admitted to buying it.

"You know someone else was with me when that was purchased right?" Hancock asked.